Alongside hens from conventional laying farms, W. van der Meer also processes organic laying hens that carry the EKO quality mark, as well as those with the Beter Leven Quality Mark from the Animal Protection Association (1, 2, and 3 stars). ^{[50] [51]} For instance, hens from Rondeel ^[52] and Kipster (both rated 3-star Beter Leven) were processed at W. van der Meer, and the Kipster roosters (used for Lidl's rooster burgers) also met their end there. ^{[53] [54]}

Organic laying hens are raised in accordance with the standards established by organic legislation, which is overseen by Skal Biocontrole. ^[55] There are no specific regulations governing the slaughter process for organic animals. They are slaughtered according to standard legislation (REGULATION (EC) No. 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing), which inevitably involves stress and pain.

To facilitate the sale of spent organic laying hens, slaughterhouse W. Van der Meer has partnered with the Organic Poultry Farmers Association (BPV) to establish the Biomeerwaardekip chain. ^[56] The association aims to enhance the value of discarded organic laying hens: organic laying hen farmers receive about 1 euro per hen at the slaughterhouse, while a conventional laying hen fetches only 0.78 cents. ^[57] After slaughter, the organic hens are marketed as organic soup chickens or transformed into a variety of organic chicken meat products, including schnitzels, burgers, nuggets, soups, ragout, barbecue sausages, frankfurters, and hot dogs. ^[58]

The slaughter process for Beter Leven chickens is the same as for conventionally slaughtered chickens. Slaughterhouses that want to process Beter Leven chickens must sign a "slaughter before stunning" declaration. This declaration prohibits them from performing slaughter without stunning, which is required for producing kosher meat. The criteria for poultry slaughterhouses, published on the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming)/Beter Leven website, state that "the animals are slaughtered as quickly as possible, but in any case within 4 hours." At W. Van der Meer, the average waiting time is 8 hours.

The criteria also specify that "staff handling live animals must have completed animal welfare training from the Butchers' Vocational Training (SVO) or equivalent training related to animal welfare for slaughterhouse personnel." Non-compliance with this rule can result in "exclusion." However, an additional document (‘Supplementary decisions and interpretations’) indicates that for practical reasons, new staff members may work with live animals for up to three months without the Certificate of Competence for Slaughterhouse Personnel. ^[60]

The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) states in its criteria that it "intends to eliminate the waterbath method by mid-2017." The supplementary document explains that "replacing the waterbath method with the two-phase CAS method (gasification) is a very significant investment that cannot be implemented overnight." The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals is discussing this change with the participating slaughterhouses. They have indicated that they need more time to make this transition. The current plan is to eliminate the waterbath method by mid-2018. However, by the end of 2019, the waterbath method is still allowed for chickens slaughtered under Beter Leven certification.